A fun comedy is coming to one of our favorite local venues. Music Theatre of Connecticut (MTC) MainStage, Fairfield County’s award winning professional theatre company, continues its 38th season with Ken Ludwig’s Moon Over Buffalo
This comedy is a wild ride of eccentric characters, a show-within-a show, and a hilarious love triangle. The production runs from February 7th through the 23rd with performances on Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 2pm & 8pm, Sundays at 2pm. In the madcap spirit of Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo is a riotous farce about George and Charlotte Hay, fading stars of the 1950s, who are performing Private Lives and Cyrano de Bergerac in Buffalo, New York. Their hopes of stardom are reignited when they learn Hollywood director Frank Capra is coming to see their matinee, with a potential movie role on the line. But chaos takes center stage as George’s dalliance with a young ingénue sparks marital drama, their daughter’s clueless fiancé adds to the confusion, and Charlotte’s sharp-tongued, hard of-hearing mother wreaks havoc backstage. With mistaken identities and endless mix-ups, this fast-paced comedy delivers non-stop laughs. It looks to be a fun filled evening. MTC always presents a great show.
We will attending the show and provide a review in the coming days.
Now on stage at the Music Theatre of Connecticut MainStage, Fairfield County’s professional award is t the very funny comedy, I Hate Hamlet by Paul Rudnick. The production had the audience laughing during the entire performance.
The play involves Andrew Rally, a young and successful television star who has ended a run on his network show and is looking for work. His agent, Lillian convinces him to move to New York City and take on the role of Hamlet in Shakespeare in the Park. Andrew decides to make the move though he is overwhelmed with doubt that he can make the jump from tv drama actor to Shakespeare. His realtor Felicia, shows him an old apartment where the famous actor John Barrymore once lived. Felicia thinks the apartment is perfect as Barrymore himself once played Hamlet.
Andrew has a problem. He does not like the apartment , he misses Los Angeles and he hates Hamlet! What is an out of work television actor to do? With the help of the realtor (who claims to be a psychic), his girlfriend Deidre (who loves Shakespeare) and the agent (who had a brief affair with Barrymore), a séance is performed in the apartment to contact the spirit of John Barrymore. The madcap comedy really starts to roll as the ghost of Barrymore, dressed as Hamlet appears.
Though he doubts he can actually perform as Hamlet, the ghost of Barrymore who partakes of champagne and other spirits, challenges Andrew to a sword fight in the apartment. The fight scenes arranged by Dan O’Driscoll who also plays Barrymore are quite impressive and realistic and still the scene is quite funny. More humor roles in as Gary, a producer from L.A. enters in an attempt to lure Andrew away from his new role with promises of a new television series and a lucrative contract. His over the top performance had the audience in stitches. Torn in two directions, what will Andrew do?
The Actors Equity cast is hilarious and the comedic timing is spot on. Directed by Kevin Conners who delivers yet another wonderful production to the MTC stage.
I Hate Hamlet will run three weekends from February 3rd – 19th, 2023 with performances on Fridays & Saturday at 8pm and Saturdays & Sundays at 2pm. I Hate Hamlet stars Constantine Pappas (Nat’l Tour- Phantom of the Opera, Off B’wayPenelope) as Andrew, Dan O’Driscoll (Off B’way- The Pirates of Penzance, Babes in Toyland) as John Barrymore, Elena Ramos Pascullo (Florida Studio Theatre- Something Rotten, MTC- The Buddy Holly Story) as Deirdre, Liliane Klein (Nat’l Tour- Scrooge, Titanic) as Felicia, Robert Anthony Jones (B’way- Finding Neverland, Nat’l Tour- Phantom of the Opera) as Gary, and Jo Anne Parady (Players Club- The Life of Shakespeare, Stratford Shakespeare Festival- Othello) as Lillian.
Support local theater!!
Ticket prices range from $40-$65 plus fees and can be purchased online
The Westport Country Playhouse is now presenting on stage the drama “From the Mississippi Delta”. This tale is based on the true life story of the author, Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Ph.D. It follows her incredible struggles from a poor black girl living in segregated Mississippi in the 1950s to the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, to her relocation to Minnesota where she attends college and graduate school. It is a tale of the human spirit and the ability to finally overcome the seemingly impossible challenges of poverty and a cruel racist society. The play was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize and has been produced in theaters across the country including Off-Broadway.
There are three actors in the play, all who play multiple roles. The main characters are the mother and daughter, with the third actor also taking on the role as narrator. They weave the true story of the author and her family. The main character, Phelia is inspired by her mother Ida (also called Aint Baby), to work hard and strive for a better life. Her mother has left the long days of the cotton fields behind as has become a midwife in her rural community. Her talents and dedication earn her the name, “Second Doctor Lady”. She owns her own modest home and rents out rooms to support her children. The play turns dark when her daughter, Phelia at age 11 is raped by a local white man. Soon Phelia is caught up the seediness of a local carnival and becomes a prostitute at age 12. She eventually will drop out of school.
Fate will change the life of young Phelia when she meets with a civil rights group that comes to town, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. They convince her to join their movement . Her mother is against her involvement, and in time their house is firebombed. Her mother, Aint Baby perishes is the fire which is blamed on Klansmen. Despite this tragedy, Phelia struggles onward and we follow her remarkable journey as she moves north to Minnesota and attends college. It is an incredible story of the human spirit that will remind you of the struggles so many have endured on the road to equality. The play has all the elements of a compelling drama: struggle, tragedy, hope, inspiration and finally redemption.
Westport Country Playhouse will stage from October 18 – 30th. So make plans to see this fascinating drama.
The three-member cast includes Claudia Logan as Woman 1. She is from Detroit, a graduate of SUNY Purchase, and now lives in Brooklyn. Credits include Westport Country Playhouse’s “Don Juan” (2019), Dallas Theater Center’s “Penny Candy,” HBO’s “Random Acts of Flyness” and “The Deuce,” and Netflix’s “Tales of the City.” Tameishia Peterson portrays Woman 2. Born in Dayton and raised in Memphis, she is a graduate of The Ohio State University, Michael Howard Studios, and Fiasco Conservatory. She now lives in New York. Credits include Starz’s ““Power Book II: Ghost,” Hulu’s “WuTang: An American Saga,” and Netflix’s “The Perfect Find.” Erin Margaret Pettigrew plays Woman 3. She is a first generation Los Angeles native after having roots in Belize and the American South. Her artist-journey has been shaped with many communities and creators such as Manhattan Theatre Club, Page 73 Productions, JAG Productions, and more, while facilitating and learning alongside institutions such as UCSB, NYU, and CUNY.
Playwright Endesha Ida Mae Holland, Ph.D. was born in Greenwood, Mississippi. During the 1940s and 1950s, Greenwood was an impoverished Delta community where Black people lived in fear of their lives. It is her life story that is the basis for this play.
Goldie E. Patrick. is the director of this production. The Detroit native is an proud alumna of Howard University where she is currently a professor of hip-hop theater. Based in New York City, for over 20 years she has passionately worked in and built artistic collaborations in Black theater as a playwright, director, and producer.
The creative team includes Jason Ardizzone-West, scenic design; Heidi Hanson, costume design; John Alexander, lighting design; Michael Keck, sound design; Ann James, intimacy coach; Dawn-Elin Fraser, voice and speech coach; Sean Sanford, props supervisor; Melissa Sparks, production stage manager; and Tré Wheeler, assistant stage manager.
The play is recommended for age 15 and up. Running time is approximately 90 minutes with one intermission. For the Playhouse’s 2022 season only, plays are consolidated to a two-week performance schedule instead of the usual three-week run. Please support great local theater, and come see professional performance at the Westport Country Playhouse.
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